Democratic candidates won races across the country on Tuesday, including in Texas, a major data center hub. Some had campaigned against the industry, prompting technology investors, researchers and other supporters to renew calls for building data centers in space rather than on Earth.
Elon Musk, who spent more than $400 million backing Republican candidates who lost their midterm races, wrote on X that space-based data centers looked appealing. Other technology figures and industry supporters also endorsed the idea. One researcher at the Foundation for American Innovation suggested underwater data centers as another possibility.
Several companies and startups are already pursuing computing infrastructure in orbit. Google has launched a satellite that it says carries a data center-class TPU. SpaceX says it plans to deploy thousands of AI satellites starting as soon as late 2027, while Blue Origin has applied to the Federal Communications Commission for permission to launch 50,000 satellites for an orbital data center system. Startup Starcloud says it carried an NVIDIA H100 GPU into orbit in November 2025.
But orbital data centers remain difficult to build and operate. They are more expensive than facilities on land, cannot expand to hyperscale, and depend on satellite launches, which bring their own risks.
The election results could also affect data center development in Texas, though the scope of potential changes is uncertain. Democrats control the state House, while Republicans retain control of the Senate. Robert Paterson, a University of Texas at Austin professor of land use and environmental planning, told WIRED that the split could hinder some immediate efforts to change policy.
Adrian Shelley, who leads Public Citizen’s Texas office, said the state legislature could consider major measures, including changes to agency resources. The governor could act sooner through executive orders or by seeking the resignation of politically appointed agency officials. State oversight bodies can impose fines for legal violations and, in severe cases, revoke permits, though Paterson noted that developers’ vested rights can protect project terms once permits are approved.
County-level rules could be another avenue for change. Paterson said nearly half of Texas data centers are in unincorporated areas, beyond city zoning authority. Texas counties have limited powers under state law, but lawmakers could potentially grant them limited zoning authority over data centers. Shelley said the coming legislative session would be significant, adding that the industry has shown little interest in working with state and local leaders.
Sources: WIRED.